Process and apparatus for separating solid-liquid compositions

ABSTRACT

A process for separating of solid-liquid compositions, comprises providing a liquid to be filtered in a liquid container, circulating the liquid through the liquid container, through a ceramic filter and through a liquid cyclone, filtering fine particles contained in the liquid by the ceramic filter and separating aggregates or coarse particles contained in the liquid by the liquid cyclone. An apparatus for carrying out the process is also disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a process for separating solid-liquidcompositions, as well as to an apparatus for carrying out the process.

A circulating system having a cross-flow type tubular ceramic filter isknown. In this system, a liquid, which includes some solids, iscontained in a container and is sent into and passes through the tubularceramic filter. After that, the liquid is sent back into the container.During filtration, the pressure of the liquid is kept at a constantvalue.

Even if the liquid contains very large solid particles, the residualliquid is successively recirculated. Doubtlessly, such large particlescannot pass through the cross-flow type ceramic filters. But it isdifficult to remove such large particles from the liquid before orduring filtering.

The liquid is successively recirculated and filtered many times while itcontains the large particles. Thus, the liquid is graduallyconcentrated. When the liquid becomes concentrated, the load applied tothe filtering apparatus increases while filtering efficiency decreases.In addition, filters often become clogged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved process for separating solid-liquid compositions in whichcoarse particles contained in a starting liquid can be removed from theliquid so that a ceramic filter is not clogged and the liquid is notgreatly concentrated at a high filtering efficiency.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of an apparatusfor carrying out the improved process.

According to the present invention, a process for separating of solidand liquid phases comprises providing a liquid to be filtered in aliquid container, circulating the liquid through the liquid container,through a ceramic filter and through a liquid cyclone in such a way thatthe liquid contained in the liquid container can be repeatedly sent backinto the liquid container, filtering fine particles contained in theliquid by the ceramic filter and separating aggregates or coarseparticles contained in the liquid by the liquid cyclone.

An apparatus for separating a solid-liquid composition comprises meansfor providing a solid-liquid composition as a source, wherein thecomposition contains fine particles and course particles or aggregatesto be separated from the liquid, means for circulating the solid-liquidcomposition from the source through a ceramic filter to separate afiltrate portion of the liquid passing through the filter from fineparticles collected by the filter and from a residual portion of thecomposition and through means for separating coarse particles oraggregates from the residual portion centrifugally, and means forreturning the residual portion to the source.

The cyclone is installed at any one of the intermediate positionsbetween the liquid container, and the ceramic filter, i.e., the liquidcyclone can be between the ceramic filter and the providing means or canbe between the providing means and means for supplying power forcirculating or can be between the circulating means and the ceramicfilter.

Preferably, the liquid cyclone consists of plural liquid cyclones havinga different separating ability with respect to one another.

Preferably, the liquid is water, an oil, or a chemical or foodcomposition.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodimentsthat follows, when considered together with the accompanying figures ofdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanation view showing a process and anapparatus for separating solid-liquid compositions according to anembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing conditions in which activated carbon isfiltered.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanation view showing a process and anapparatus, for separating solid-liquid compositions, having pluralliquid cyclones according to an embodiment of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention, comprising a combination of a ceramic filter anda liquid cyclone, makes it possible to provide a process for filteringthat has excellent characteristics not only regarding thermalresistance, wear resistance, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance,and fine filtration, but also regarding filtering efficiency.

FIGS. 1 and 3 show examples of embodiments of apparatuses for realizingthe present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid container 1 stores aliquid 5 to be filtered. A ceramic filter 2 is used to filter fine solidparticles contained in the liquid 5. A liquid cyclone 3 is used toseparate aggregates or coarse solid particles.

A circulating means 4 repeatedly sends the liquid 5 stored in the liquidcontainer 1 through the ceramic filter 2 and the cyclone 3 into thecontainer 1.

The liquid 5 stored in the liquid container 1 contains solid particlesincluding aggregate or coarse particles. Fine particles contained in theliquid 5 are filtered by the ceramic filter 2. Aggregate or coarseparticles are separated by the liquid cyclone 3 so as to be removed fromthe liquid 5.

The ceramic filter 2 is in the shape of a pipe or tube, and a casing ofthe filter, preferably made of stainless steel, has a discharge port 15.An example of the ceramic filter 2 is described in Japanese PatentPublication No. 48646/84. The ceramic filter 2 is made of high-purityalumina and is of a multi-layer structure type. The structure is notsymmetric, such that the pore diameters gradually change from an insidelayer to an outside layer. The average pore diameter of the outer layeris larger than that of the inner layer. A preferred embodiment of theceramic filter 2 shown in FIG. 1 has an outer diameter of 19 mm and aninner diameter of 15 mm. The average pore diameter of the inside layeris 0.1 microns.

The liquid cyclone 3 comprises a cylindrical part and a conical parttherein. The cylindrical part has an inlet port 6 in its tangentialdirection. The cylindrical part has an outlet 7 at the center of itsupper portion. The conical part has an exhaust port 8 at its lower endso as to discharge coarse particle slurry. A tank 8', is placed underand joined to the exhaust port 8.

The circulating means 4 has a pump 13 and a valve 14, and is connectedby plural circulation pipes 9, 10, 11, 12.

The circulation pipe 9 is installed between the liquid container 1 andthe pump 13. The circulation pipe 10 is installed between the pump 13and the ceramic filter 2. The circulation pipe 11 is installed betweenthe ceramic filter 2 and the liquid cyclone 3. The circulation pipe 12is installed between the liquid cyclone 3 and the liquid container 1.The valve 14 is installed at an intermediate portion of the circulationpipe 11. The amount of liquid flowing into the liquid cyclone 3 can beregulated by means of valve 14.

In FIG. 3, he same numerals which are used in FIG. 1 are used toindicate the same elements. The circulating means 4 has a pump 13 and avalve 14, and is connected by plural pipes 9, 16, 17, 18, 12. Two liquidcyclones 3, 3' having inlet ports 6, 6', outlets 7, 7,, exhaust port 8,8, are used to separate aggregate or coarse solid particles. Thecirculation pipe 16 is installed between the pump 13 and the liquidcyclone 3. The circulation pipe 17 is installed between the cyclone 3and the cylinder 3' The circulation pipe 18 is installed between thecyclone 3' and the ceramic filter 2. The circulation pipe 19 isinstalled between the ceramic filter 2 and the liquid container 1.

EXAMPLE

Now, operation of the invention will be explained according to apreferred example of the present invention. The apparatus of FIG. 1described above was used for the example. The liquid 5 was watercontaining activated carbon. Thirty liters of water and 80 g (300 cc) ofcarbon were mixed. Grain size of the activated carbon was from 0.02 mmto 10 microns, or less.

The average pore diameter of the inside layer of the ceramic filter 2was 0.1 microns.

The diameter of the liquid cyclone 3 was 100 mm and its height was 400mm. The cyclone 3 was made of stainless steel.

During operation, the pressure of the liquid at the outlet 7 of theliquid cyclone 3 was lower than the pressure of the liquid at theentrance 6. The pressure of the liquid at the entrance 6 of the liquidcyclone 3 was 2 Kg/cm², while the pressure of the liquid at the outlet 7of the liquid cyclone 3 was 0.5 Kg/cm². A flow rate of the liquid at theentrance 6 of the liquid cyclone 3 was 8 m/sec.

When the pump 13 started, the liquid 5 stored in the liquid container 1was sent to the ceramic filter 2 through the circulating pipe 9, thepump 13 and the circulating pipe 10. When the liquid 5 passed throughthe ceramic filter 2, the liquid 5 was filtered in a cross-flow manner.The filtrate was discharged through the outlet 15.

Next, the residual liquid 5 was sent via the circulating pipe 11 to thecylindrical part of the cyclone 3 through the entrance 6 at a high flowrate in a tangential direction. The liquid 5 produced an eddy current inthe liquid cyclone 3 so that a centrifugal force was produced. The solidparticles having a large size and a large specific gravity were movedtoward the wall of the liquid cyclone 3 by means of the centrifugalforce and gradually settled to a lower conical part of the liquidcyclone 3 so as to form a slurry. This slurry containing coarseparticles was discharged through the outlet 8 into the tank 8, duringthe filtering operation. Fine particles, together with liquid, remainedat a central portion of the cyclone and flowed through the outlet 7 atthe upper center portion of the cyclone, thereby to be sent back intothe liquid container 1.

As the operation above mentioned was repeated, the solid particles inthe liquid were separated from the liquid.

When the volume of the liquid decreased to 10 liters, an additional 30liters of water and 80 g of activated carbon were added into the liquidcontainer 1, whereby the liquid was continuously filtered.

Because the particles having a large size and a large specific gravitywere discharged as slurry through the outlet 8 of the liquid cyclone 3,even if the liquid was successively filtered so as to decrease involume, the liquid was never greatly concentrated.

FIG. 2 shows conditions under which the activated carbon was filtered. Acharacteristic curve A shows the filtering flux in the case where theliquid cyclone 3 was used. A characteristic curve B shows the filteringflux in the case where no liquid cyclone was used. As can be seen fromFIG. 2, the filtering flux is constant in the case where the liquidcyclone was used because the slurry of coarse particles could bedischarged during the filter operation so as to preclude clogging. Onthe other hand, in the case where no liquid cyclone was used, thefiltering flux decreased in the form of a sawtooth, even if backwashingwas repeatedly carried out.

In FIG. 2, a characteristic curve C shows the concentration of solids inthe liquid in the case where no liquid cyclone was used. According tothe curve C, the concentration gradually increased. A characteristiccurve D shows the concentration of the solid in the liquid in the casewhere the liquid cyclone was used. In this case, the concentration wasalmost constant because aggregates or coarse particles could becontinuously or intermittently discharged and removed from the liquidduring the filter operation.

The size, the structure, the material quality and number of the liquidcyclones and the ceramic filter can be optionally selected according tothe liquid's characteristics.

The ceramic filter can have any cross-section, such as a hexagonal shapeor a pipe shape. The former shape of ceramic filter, for example, canhave 19 holes each having a diameter of 4 mm. Needless to say, it isexpected that the present invention shows higher filtering efficiency ifbackwashing is applied to it.

Having described a specific embodiment of our process and apparatus, itis believed obvious that modifications and variations of our inventionby persons skilled in the art are possible in light of the aboveteachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for separating a solid-liquidcomposition, which comprises the steps of:providing a liquid to befiltered in a liquid container, the liquid containing fine particles andcoarse particles or aggregates; circulating the liquid through theliquid container, through a ceramic filter and through a liquid cyclonein such a way that a residual portion of the liquid not filtered throughthe filter is repeatedly sent back into the liquid container; filteringfine particles contained in the liquid by the ceramic filter; andseparating aggregates or coarse particles contained in the liquid by theliquid cyclone.
 2. A process according to claim 1, wherein the cycloneis located between the ceramic filter and the liquid container.
 3. Aprocess according to claim 1, wherein the cyclone is located downstreamof the liquid container and upstream of the ceramic filter.
 4. A processaccording to claim 3, wherein the cyclone is located downstream of ameans for circulating the liquid.
 5. A process according to claim 1,wherein the liquid cyclone consists of plural cyclones having adifferent separating ability with respect to one another.
 6. A processaccording to claim 1, wherein the liquid comprises water or an oil.
 7. Aprocess according to claim 6, wherein the solid-liquid compositioncomprises a chemical composition or a food composition.
 8. A process forseparating a solid-liquid composition, comprising the steps of:(a)providing a solid-liquid at a source, wherein the composition containsfine particles and coarse particles or aggregates to be separated fromthe liquid; (b) circulating the solid-liquid composition from thesource(i) through a filtration stage comprising a ceramic filter, toseparate a filtrate portion of the liquid passing through the filterfrom fine particles collected by the filter and from a residual portionof the composition, and (ii) through a dynamic separation stage, tocentrifugally separate coarse particles or aggregates from the residualportion; (c) returning the residual portion to the source, and (d)recirculating the residual portion from the source by separating step(b) at least once.
 9. A process according to claim 8, further comprisingthe step of periodically adding additional solid-liquid composition atthe source.